FAQ’S – FREQUENTLY ANSWERED QUESTIONS

Live, Work and Study in U.S.A.

WINNERS will get FREE support from GCAS

What is a greencard and what benefits are associated?

A green card is a permanent visa to live in the USA. You are allowed to take up any employment, get self-employed or don't work at all. The green card is also suitable for retirement in the USA. Green Card holders possess a large number of benefits, e.g. lower study fees, social security and health insurance benefits, possibility to work for the US-forces and other government institutions, the right to apply for green cards for other family members and the possibility to obtain US-citizenship after three or five years. With a green card you may also keep your current passport and live in the US for the rest of your life.

I don’t want to work any more, do I also need a greencard?

Many of our clients are coming to us and ask this question, because they want to retire in the USA. If you want to live in the USA for longer than 6 months per year, you need to have a greencard. There is no special retirement visa available in the USA.

How can I get a Green Card?

Immigrating to the USA became more and more difficult over the years. A formal immigration process usually takes several years and costs typically between $6’000 and $18’000 in legal fees. The official government processed greencard lottery created under the Diversity Act of 1990 offers an easy way to immigrate to the USA. Most of the stringent restrictions for the greencard are removed under this program. The greencard lottery is the cheapest and fastest way to obtain permanent residency in the United States of America. A greencard can also be used for shorter stays in the USA.

When can I or do I have to move the USA?

Once you have been positively selected you can fly to the USA the day after your embassy appointment. You can immediately start working in the USA if you want to. But you don’t have to rush things: You can also wait with your first trip to the USA for 6 months after the embassy appointment. Immigration law demands that a greencard holder may not leave the USA for more than 12 months without a special permission. This re-entry permit is valid for two years and can under certain circumstances be obtained several times. It is possible to postpone a final move to the USA for several years without losing the right of permanent residency (greencard). With the greencard you can leave and re-enter the USA as many times as you like. There are no restrictions on the amount of trips to foreign countries. And when you come back to the USA, you can use the short and quick citizens/resident queue at your first US-airport.

Do I have to give up my current citizenship?

No, as the greencard is only a permanent residency document, it does not affect your current citizenship. Even if you decide to become a US-Citizen one day, the USA does not require you to give up your old passport.

How and when can I become a US-Citizen?

First of all you need to have a greencard. If you obtained the greencard through the lottery program, you need to have your greencard for five years before you can apply for US-citizenship. Within those five years you have to have lived in the USA for at least 2.5 years and never left the USA for longer than 6 months per trip away. Many of our earlier winners have in the meantime obtained US-citizenship and are proud holders of two or more passports now. Once you are a US-citizen, you can freely leave and enter the country without any time restrictions or further questions or trouble when leaving or coming back. When passing the US-immigration posts you have to use your US-passport only.

Which data are needed for entering the lottery?

The American government assumes that only people with the necessary qualifications participate in the greencard lottery. Therefore qualifications only have to be proven after the positive selection at the time of your embassy appointment. We therefore do not require extensive data from our clients. You do not have to prove anything to us at the stage of entering the lottery.

Do I need to speak English?

No, Americans assume that immigrants will learn the language quickly when they live in the USA. There is no English requirement and no English test.

How much money do I need?

To register for the greencard lottery no further funds or securities are needed. Upon your positive selection and only at the time of your embassy appointment you will need to pay $819.- for the issuance of your greencard. There is no specific amount of savings you need to show. GCAS supports all winners FREE of charge and helps them to pass further steps and obtain their greencards.

What about my family? Can children apply?

Married applicants need to include their spouses during the lottery application no matter if they want to immigrate with them or not. If both spouses qualify you can select an application for me and my spouse and therefore double your chances of winning. Spouses and unmarried children under 21 receive their greencards together with the applicant. For children over 21 and already married children the applicant can apply as well, but quotas apply and it will take longer to obtain those greencards. We therefore recommend married children and children above 21 years of age to file their own and independent lottery application now. Even children under 21 can file their own application if they qualify for the lottery program. Please note that it is not necessary to possess the qualifications at the time of registration, but only at the time of the embassy appointment. It is therefore possible to register for the greencard lottery approximately 2 years before you have finished high school or obtained alternative qualifications.

Is there an age requirement or limit for the greencard lottery?

There is no minimum or maximum age for the greencard lottery. We have had winner between 17 and 72 years of age. In order to check for age discrimination we compared the average age of our winner with the average age of our applicants. It was exactly the same. In the USA it is illegal to discriminate for age, gender, race, colour or religion. The US-authorities take this very serious and all people have the same chances of winning the lottery.

We are an unmarried couple, what can we do?

De-facto relationships are not accepted by the US-Immigration authorities. We therefore recommend unmarried couples to file two separate single applications. After being positively selected you have several months to decide if you want to get married and obtain two greencards or if you want to wait until later. Green Card Application Service has vast experience in such cases and can advise you accordingly. With the two single applications unmarried couples also have double chances of winning.

Who gets how many greencards?

For the greencard Lottery the world is divided into 6 regions (by the continents). Immigration numbers of the past five years are counted and analysed. Against the normal immigration the quota for the lottery is determined. This is done to obtain a healthy mix of immigrants. No one country can get more than 7% of the greencards.

Why is the country of birth relevant and not my nationality?

The greencard lottery has been established under the immigration act of 1990 and should guarantee a good mix of immigrants to the USA. It is important that different cultures are brought into America, which is the culture of the USA itself. Immigrants have founded this nation and immigrants are welcome. It is assumed that the cultural background of a person is closer related to the place of birth than to a potentially different nationality. Therefore the place of birth is determined to be the first relevant data to determine the nativity of a person. There are exceptions to the rule: If a person by accident during a holiday or other temporary stay was born in an ineligible country, the person can claim the country of birth of their parents. The second exception is granted to people born in an ineligible country but married to someone born in a qualifying country. The nationality or citizenship of an applicant is NOT relevant for the greencard lottery.

Why are some countries not eligible?

If a country produced more that 50'000 immigrants over the past 5 years it is excluded from the diversity visa program (greencard lottery). This is done to avoid overpopulation from individual countries in the USA and to help the process of integration into the US-culture. There are no political reasons for the selection of the eligible or ineligible countries. If you want to see a list of all eligible countries, please click here.

What are my chances of winning?

Green Card Application Service has no direct influence on the selection of your application and cannot provide any guarantees of winning. But we guarantee our applicants that we produce a qualifying entry for them. No GCAS-Appliant risks disqualification due to mistakes in the fomalities or missing of deadlines.

Do I need any photos?

For the participation in the greencard lottery it is necessary to have a digital photo or a normal passport photograph. All our participants will be informed in detail about this requirement during step 3 of the application. GCAS Green Card Application Service also accepts your paper passport photographs and digitalizes them for their clients.

Why should I use Green Card Application Service?

You clearly do not have to use Green Card Application Service, but we believe that you will be in better hands if you do. Annually we have a large number of winners, and over the past several years we have literally had hundreds of winners. We know exactly what we are doing, and our success rate shows this fact. We can assure you that your entry will be 100% correct, delivered to the United States Authorities in time, and that if you win we will assist you through the remaining issues involved in obtaining the Green Card. Click on our winners to read how very satisfied they are with our service. You decide! For more details about our service please visit Our Advantages.

How do I know if I qualify for this program?

Please use our free Qualification-Check. This check is free of charge and does not require any personal data.

How much does it cost?

Participation is FREE. We, at GCAS, charge for the professional expertise and for the service we provide. Our professional service includes: application service, information check, correcting of wrong or invalid data, support in different languages, correct completion of the application, and submission of the application on time and to the correct address. GCAS guarantees that your application will not be disqualified.